Best Battery Chainsaws

Stihl MSA60C Battery Chainsaw. So, I was after a smaller sized easy to use chainsaw to do quick pruning around the garden and cut logs for… Read more

fireplace. I own a Stihl MS251C 2 stroke chainsaw which is great for heavier jobs but it's a bit more work to get out for a quick job. Initially I looked at the Stihl GTA26 hand held pruner at $Au279 but was a little worried that you had to manually oil the blade for lubrication and it's really scaled at a smaller scaled specifically designed use. I then had a look at the MSA60C which looked pretty nice with its compact size and lightweight. Luckily I also owned the fabulous Stihl BGA60 blower so already had an AK30 battery on hand. The skin for an MSA60C was $Au399 so I thought it to be the best compromise for size efficiency over performance over practicality over price.

Anyway I've used the MSA60C a few times now and it's absolutely brilliant for cutting any mid sized logs for the fire place. It runs so much quieter than a petrol chainsaw and using the MSA60C doesn't really hook into the AK30 battery charge that much as well. The wife even got it out and used it where she wouldn't even think about pulling out our petrol one before. The MSA70C skin was $Au100 more expensive with supposedly the same motor with 25% more power but the MSA60C is all I think you'd really need as it doesn't at all falter in use. A truly superb tool you'll be stoked to have.

More than Cogs’n’Chains – G’day! Back from the hidden cave, have I got a great little story for you! Usually I’d stay below ground with all the other hidden Ryobi gear I’ve… Read more

got stashed away, but I had to come up for a visit to Bunnings on this occasion. I’m sure you know the feeling - if you don’t get that weekly trip to Bunnings, the week just isn’t complete.

Before the weekly trip, I had to knock over a bit of tree-lopping. Can’t let those Gum’s get too far before a bit of a tree-shave, y’know! Out with the Ryobi 36v 14” Chainsaw, out with the bar oil, bring on the old Ryobi 36v battery.

“Righto, it’s you and me, tree”. Then… to my horror… half way through the 5th branch… click click click! “Well I’ll be buggered”, I did say! The ol’ battery is goneski! I have to say, about 7 years of honest service on 92% of the Ryobi 36v range is a pretty solid effort. I had a little tear leak out of my left eye. Looking everywhere for a siliver lining, I wiped my eye and had a think... “Well I guess the trip to Bunnings has come early”!

Loaded up, “fire in the hole” the old Land Rover chugged to life - we’re off! In and out after taking a look around all but the dunny. So the lovely new 4aH battery, a few nuts and bolts, and a bit of timber, let’s go try out that fancy new battery!

Whipped out of the box (with the bonus additional charger, I might add!) I lovingly removed and charged the new battery, then pulled it straight out for a test-run. Picture a 6 year old boy with a new train set!

In she goes (the new Ryobi 36v 4aH battery, not the minister of war and finance!) and Houston - WE HAVE A PROBLEM! I’ll be… the son of a biscuit doesn’t fit into the chainsaw! Who would have thought? And we’re not talking “she’s a big old battery, this one”… no no… the new 4aH 36v battery was less than a mosquito whisker too big to fit into the bugger! You could slip a feeler-gauge in there and give it a good flogging, but she was just too big for the old Ryobi 36v 14” Chainsaw’s filler port. I even took a happy-snap of this one - you wouldn’t believe it!

I pulled up for a breath and asked myself “what would Albo (y’know, the new PM) do”? Of course, I had to be diplomatic about it. On one side I have a beaut ol’ Chainsaw that has been a reliable old unit since about 1948 (ok, maybe it was 2017), and on the other side I’d just laid down a solid few-hundred for this brand-spankers new battery. “I’d best rip out the computer and email Ryobi about this one I think”, and so I did.

As the days passed, I could sense the tension and anguish approaching. I was losing hope that I could talk to the Auzzie Jedi-Master aka Ryobi Tech, but thankfully I opened up the Computer one fine morning soon after to be greeted with a response by Ben. “Send us a few pics and we’ll have a look at what we can do”, he wrote (or words to that effect). A pair of emails back and forth, to my surprise Ben told me to head in to Bunnings with a copy of the email and they’ll take my old Ryobi 36v 14” Chainsaw, and replace it with a brand-spankers Ryobi 36v 14” Chainsaw. The difference between the two (says Ben) is the location of the battery holder on the saw. Apparently the design change was to accomodate the new “bigger” batteries.

So, leaving Bunnings a very satisfied customer, I headed home with the Ryobi RCS36B1 36v Chainsaw! Happy as a pig in … well … it!

Time for a test-drive, now the emotional stuff is all complete. Saw - Check! Bar oil - Check! Blade tension - Check! 4aH battery - BINGO!! Like picking the winning Keno numbers at the local waterhole, we were in business!

Sawing away merrily (as you can see in these pictures), the new Ryobi RCS36B1 36v Chainsaw was showing the skill of a mountain goat.

Good and bad points you ask? Yeah it’s got them. You be the judge!

It’s a saw that holds its own in the mid-size saw range. Ryobi say the 14” saw will cut a 300mm lump of tree, and I can attest to 250mm of that! No worries. I cut through a decent bit of tree with blunt blades in a video over on YouTube if you take a look at the end of this rant.

It’s got good weight and balance too - I’m sure I don’t need to tell you legends about the importance of a balanced machine.

The adjuster for the bar is very easy and kind to use. It holds the line well under load too, so it’s good to know you can get your tension right on the bar and have it stay right there too.

I found it nice and easy to pull it apart to clean when I finished the job too. It’s got sensible sized and easy to use bits that don’t seem unfamiliar to anyone who’s handled their way around a chainsaw before.

The 4aH battery was plenty for a solid hour or so of work. The 6aH battery was more than enough the following day. Given the old saw came with a 2.6-ish amp battery, both the 4 and 6aH batteries are plenty for a good day of cutting.

Easy to use - Yep!

Reasonable and evenly weighted - You got it!

Simple and tough - Sure thing!

In my opinion (for what it may be worth!) I reckon you should add this solid investment to your tool list, to be rewarded by a great and honest chainsaw.

Before you go, check out the sizes too. Ryobi have both larger and smaller size 36v chainsaws if your appetite is different!

HooRoo

Cuts like butter! – The 36V Ryobi cordless Pole Pruner is easy to use, well weighted, has a lot of power and long battery life. The ergonomics ensure you don’t tire and it’s easy to maintain.

AWESOME 18V PRUNING CHAINSAW! I'm very impressed with this little handheld pruning chainsaw. Being small and just 18V, I thought it would struggle a… Read more

little, particularly with a native hardwood tree that was about 4 metres tall. I originally intended to use it just on the outer branches, but this little chainsaw effortlessly took down 95% of the entire tree. It's really easy to handle due to its small size, and I was able to easily cut through branches 150mm thick with a little up/down and around motion with the blade. It's an awesome little chainsaw, highly recommended.

A great tool – Having seen a professional with the same or similar Makita, I decided to get this. This was after I had researched what brushless meant! It's light… Read more

and much quieter than a petrol driven chain saw, so no ear muffs needed. It was safer using this to cut up all the branches left on the roof after a large branch came down. The professional did the big bits! Sooo much better than the early electric saws, which were useless. The battery lasts ages, and I still haven't sharpened it. Still need the petrol driven one for big jobs, but this is much handier for the little jobs. More inclined to get them done, too, as just need a quick oil and chain check.

This is actually a well made product with great safety features and a good quick charge . It can do most things and I often use it instead of a chain saw - nothing has broken and the chain adjust easy

Excellent product i have petrol chainsaws but I take this camping no fuel 8ah battery easily does a weekend plus more cutting yellow box and redgum for the fire, can also charge off inverter in car really handy no more need for a small petrol saw

Very happy – I've had a B&D pole saw for years. It has done so much work I'm surprised it is still alive! It is light, easy to balance, has an extension and the… Read more

blade is still the original one. The only problem I have had was finding a new battery for it just recently. I eventually found one and it's back to work!. Well done, Black and Decker.

Outstanding chainsaw – I've previously reviewed another battery-powered chainsaw (Black & Decker's GKC 1820 L-XE) and rated it highly. I extolled its virtues for light… Read more

work on a small rural property; and back then (early days of lithium-powered tools) believed it to be quite exceptional.

Recently, we purchased two Husqvarna 120i chainsaws. I say 'we', as I convinced a mate to buy one, a few weeks after I did. He didn't need much convincing... and traded his fuel operated 'Husqie'... never to go back! These saws are exceptional... light(er), powerful and reliable. The battery lasts much longer than any of my many lithium-powered tools... and while I still own five chainsaws (three Husqvarnas and two B & Ds) the 120i is the preferred tool on our ten-acre heavily-forested block. It's ideal for pruning (clean[er] cut), light firewood... odd jobs... and even rough carpentry.

[Photo size comparison of the 120i with smaller B&D behind.]

Works well with practice – WHAT: Ego commercial pole saw used for trimming branches / hedges at a height without the risk of climbing ladders. Its has a 25cm motorised bar and… Read more

chain at the end of a 1.1m pole, and the battery/control unit is 90cm long unextended, but can be lengthened to 1.6m. One additional expansion pole is supplied (1.1m long) and you could possible add one more, but manoeuvring the cutting head at an extended length of 3m is usable, but 4m might be pushing the limit for anyone but a strong, muscly fit individual.

NOTES: This is a lighter weight version using carbon fibre poles to keep the construction rigidity but make managing the chain saw at the end of the pole possible. It is sold as a skin (you need to already have batteries or buy one separately.)

POWER: uses the standard size 56V EGO batteries. I have run it on 2.5AH, 4 AH, 7.5AH batteries. All are fine, weight being a consideration. A heavier battery helps balance the extended poles when working at full length, with the shoulder strap taking most of the weight. (even with the carbon fibre poles, total weight with battery is noticeable after a while)

ASSEMBLY: The extension poles are a plug and socket arrangement with a clip push button. inside the connectors are 5 connectors for the power and controlling the cutting speed. The connectors also have a knob to hand tighten as well to keep wobbles to a minimum when working at extended lengths. When initially assembled I found I had to tighten the other part of the clamp as there was too much slack in the connector straight out of the box. Strong tightening is essential for stability!

BAR & CHAIN: There is a tightening system with a tool for getting the chain tension correct. It is fairly straightforward to use. The cutting head also has an automatic oiler for putting in the bar cutting lubricant. Most of these automatic oilers have a tendency to leak when stored, so it is advisable to empty it if there is any left in the dispenser. There is also a protective cover for the bar & chain. If you leave the bar and chain assembled then the pole and cutting head won't fit back inside the shipping box, making storage a bit of a nuisance.

IN USE: It cuts easily, variable speed, but does tend to clog up a bit with cutting debris. The cutting head has a guide which is a short piece of plastic that projects downwards under the cutting head near where the chain returns inside the head. While this seems to be a good idea, the guide can be nuisance when cutting smaller branches off as it can get caught amongst other leaves and branches. No issues with larger branches. Managing a cutting head at full extension takes a bit of practice: you have a 3.6m long contraption with weight at either end which you are trying to position vertically, see where you are cutting, cut, make sure you are not underneath it, and also manage safety raising and lowering it.

PRACTICE!: It would be even more awkward it you had an extra extension pole, but then you could get to almost 5 - 5.5m cutting height. You can shorten the base unit by 70cm as the lower section is adjustable: or lower height cutting (and without the extension) it does make it more manageable. Carbon-fibre poles are light, and this definitely helps usability.

LONG TERM: Happy so far, does the job I expected it to do. On the reliability, this remains to be seen, although I have had a selection of EGO power tools for many years now and although the smaller batteries have lost a bit of capacity, with proper charging procedures they have been reasonable. (My 7.5AH lawn mower battery had been a bit cantankerous, sometimes not accepting full charge - occasionally I found you need to flatten the battery, & let it rest before recharging.) Keeping the chain lubricated and sharp will be a key maintenance factor, as it is harder to cut with a blunt chain!